By:Angela Marshall
Kids, teachers get ready
Five-year-old Brittany Krisel said the thing she is most excited about in starting kindergarten next week is lunch. She will be using her older sister Nina's lunch box, which she loves.
She would also like to know if any of her friends will be in her class at Hewett School, but otherwise she's just excited about getting to learn. She's a true book girl and wants to be able to read them herself.
The fact that she will be going all day doesn't even register. She was already going to preschool from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nina and brother Jeremy went to kindergarten full day as well but they had to go to a private school to do it.
Brittany's mom, Martha, the village attorney, has always believed her children were ready for a full-day experience at 5 and paid for them to have it. Last spring the Board of Education voted to create a full-day K program in the district and Brittany's class will be the first to take advantage. "This is a real treat for us," Krisel said.
The pros and cons of creating the new program after more than a century of half-day K were discussed at length during meetings throughout the course of the last school year. The opposition was almost as great as the support. Some of the opponents will now send their children to private school so that they can go part time.
Many of the kindergarten teachers in the district have embraced the new system and spent their summers going to workshops and writing new curricula. "We're really, truly excited," said Laura Moore, a teacher at Watson. "We worked hard all summer."
They went on visitations to schools with full-day programs like in Oceanside and Hewlett to observe the children and talk to the teachers. What the RVC teachers decided after that experience is just what they suspected. "We're not going to have any problem filling up the day," said Paula Genovesi of Wilson. She has already spent nine days setting up her classroom and can't wait for the year to begin.
The teachers created a theme-based program related to the requirements of the state standards and curriculum. It is broken down by the month and each theme is used in all the subject areas to help the children learn. The topics for September are the school community, All About Me and the five senses. Fall and Halloween will be part of the topics covered in October.
Each month the children will also be introduced to a genre of literature and an author.
The teachers believe the longer day will allow them to give more individualized attention to the students. "We've always addressed the individual needs of each child," Moore said. "[The longer day] gives us more time with each child."
Unlike some neighboring districts, RVC will have a full day even on the first day. And that's okay with Genovesi. "Children are very adaptable," she said.
The students will ease into their lessons with an emphasis on music and story time the first day. Other priority topics are routines and learning to follow directions.
These are also key in the home, according to social worker Maureen Bedell, who works with students at Wilson and Covert. Before the first day she recommends parents initiate a schedule at home as well. Children should begin going to bed earlier, wake up earlier and breakfast should be eaten so that they could walk out the door at the exact time they will need to for school.
For parents who have been home with their kids all summer, Bedell suggested getting a babysitter for a couple of hours a day to get them used to the change. Tell them when you will be back and stick to the plan.
Easing in the apprehensive student
While Brittany is raring to go, some children are apprehensive about school. When Cade Allen's mom asked him if he was excited about going to school, he replied with a firm, "I don't want to."
The 5-year-old said he would prefer to stay at his old school with his friends.
"The first day will be hard for him," said Cade's mom, Shereen. But she does not think this is in response to going to school full day because he was already attending preschool from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. last year. Instead she believes it is shyness and a little trepidation about the change in schools.
Both are normal reactions, according to Bedell.
She offered several pieces of advice for parents whose youngsters might be nervous about school.
Communicating is key. "Validate their feelings," she said. "Listen, validate, reassure."
It is also important to make sure your feelings of anxiety aren't feeding the children's. "Be an actress," Bedell said. "They pick up on your [emotions]."
Remind them of similar situations in the past and how it all worked out. Parents can also make plans for after school like baking cookies or some other favorite activity for children to look forward to.
Books that can help parents are "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell and "Dinofours: It's Time for School" by Steve Metzger.
If they are still anxious by the first day, Bedell said, parents should walk children to the school door, give a hug, reassure them and let the staff take over.
Approximately 100 of the district's incoming kindergartners participated in the jump-start program this summer to get them ready for entering school.
